A surge in pickleball popularity comes with a surge in nasty eye injuries

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2025-10-17 02:00

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As the tennis/badminton hybrid sport pickleball has grown in popularity in the US, hospitals have seen a surge in eye injuries from playing the sport, according to US researchers. The researchers looked at emergency department data from 2005-2024, and identified an estimated 3112 pickleball-related eye injuries over that time period. An estimated 1262 of those cases occurred in 2024 alone, and the researchers say there was an increase of about 400 cases each year from 2021-2024. Some of the worst injuries included retinal detachment, broken eye sockets and eye bleeding, and the researchers say the sport likely needs guidelines around eye protection.

Media release

From: JAMA

About The Study: This study found that pickleball-related eye injuries have increased at an alarming rate over the past 4 years as the sport continues to grow in popularity. Eye protection is not currently mandated for casual or professional play. Establishing standardized guidelines for eye protection is recommended to reduce the risk of ocular injuries among players.

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Research JAMA, Web page The URL will go live after the embargo ends

Journal/
conference: JAMA Opthalmology

Research:Paper

Organisation/s: Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, USA, Veterans Affairs NJ Healthcare System, USA

Funder: Dr Tsui reported receiving consulting fees from AbbVie Inc and EyePoint and grants and unrelated research funding from Johnson & Johnson Surgical Vision outside the submitted work. No other disclosures were reported.

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